This past Sunday was the NYC Marathon. What a production. 54,000 runners! The scope of the whole thing was pretty overwhelming.
I ran with a large team supporting Boston Children's Hospital, including a number of athena friends. The morning before (Saturday) we took a very slow "shake out" run together in the park, and then gathered for breakfast.
The next morning, we had to board buses at 5:15 am for an hour and a half long crawl in traffic out to the start on Staten Island. The "thing" about this marathon is it touches all five boroughs. That is cool, but I'm not sure touching Staten Island for all of 100 yards at the start is worth the pre-race logistical nightmare, or the 3 plus hour wait between arrival and starting gun.
It was pretty chilly out, so everyone wore clothing they didn't mind donating before the start. I got this wookie coat for $20 at Target the night before, and I have to say I was sad to part with it!
At least our team had a tent. It felt a little bit like a refugee camp...
At around 10 we crowded into corrals...
...slow-stepped toward the starting line...
...and we were off!
Running from neighborhood to neighborhood felt a little like running between movie sets. Truly an amazing way to "tour" NYC.
Of course the best part for me was finding this crew around mile 17, right about when I started paying for my too-fast (by far!) first ten miles.
Toward the home stretch I happened to meet up with my former colleague, David, for whose son, Joe Joe, the team ran, and Ally, an incredibly positive and happy young lady who keep urging me to keep running "for Sylvie," even though she's never met Sylvie!
The true home stretch in Central Park was, for obvious reasons, one of the best parts of the course.
Of course nothing beats the finish line!
I like the medal for this one.
Afterwards I was NOT pleased to learn I had a 20-plus block slog back to the hotel... although having the road cleared for the undead-like procession of finishers was a cool final touch.
Icing on the cake: I stumbled across David one more time and got to thank him for giving me the opportunity to do this race. I don't think it is one I'll do again, but I loved the experience!
